The Blessing of the Waters – How We Use It

Our Church is the life of Christ extended through history. It is not simply a place of worship, but the “Godman organism” within which the human person is sanctified, healed, illumined, and led to deification. For this reason, every act of the Church, every sacred service, every prayer and blessing, is not a mere formality or custom, but a touch of Grace upon the human person and upon his environment.

One of the most beloved and established sacred services is the Agiasmos—the blessing and sanctification of water. Yet, although most of us have it in our lives—at Theophany, on the first day of the month, in our homes and shops—few of us know with precision what the Agiasmos is, how it is celebrated, what it means, and how we are to use it in an Orthodox way, without superstition and without a magical mentality.

Today, therefore, let us stand theologically and pastorally before this great gift: the Agiasmos, its relationship with Theophany, the distinction between Great and Small, and above all the way in which we receive it in our homes and use it for the benefit of soul and body.

1. What Is the Blessing of the Waters: Blessing, Sanctification, Healing

The Agiasmos is the sacred service during which, by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the reading of sanctifying prayers, the water is sanctified and becomes an instrument of Grace. It is not “magic water.” It is sanctified water—created matter that receives the uncreated energy of God in a mysterious way, so that it may offer blessing to those who receive it in faith.

The foundation of this sacred act is already present in Holy Scripture. Water appears as a sign of life and purification: in creation, in the flood, in the passage through the Red Sea, in the Jordan, in the purifications of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, water is associated with the mystery of rebirth: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit…” (Jn. 3:5). Christ blesses the water not only as a symbol, but as a vehicle of divine gift, as is shown pre-eminently in His Baptism in the Jordan, where the Holy Trinity is revealed.

The Church, remaining faithful to this evangelical and apostolic ethos, sanctifies the water and offers it as a blessing, just as the prayer of the Great Blessing of the Waters declares: that it may become “a source of incorruption,” “a gift of sanctification,” “a remission of sins,” “a protection against infirmities,” “a destruction of demons,” “for the sanctification of houses,” and “useful for every suitable purpose.” Here it is seen clearly that the Church does not understand the Agiasmos as a folk custom, but as a means of sanctification—of healing and strengthening the believer.

2. Mystery and “Mystery-like Rite”: Ecclesiastical Precision

The Agiasmos belongs to what we call a “mystery-like” rite (mysteriodes). That is, it is a service in which the Grace of God is given invisibly through visible signs and prayers, without, however, having been instituted directly by the Lord as one of the central Mysteries, and without being absolutely necessary for salvation in the way that the Divine Eucharist, Baptism, etc. are.

Nevertheless, Orthodox Tradition is not “narrow” in its understanding of the Mysteries. The Fathers did not have the later schematization of a strict number of seven. On the contrary, they see the Church as one overall Mystery, within which every sacred act is organically related to the center: Christ Himself.

For this reason, the saying of St. Justin Popovich is very apt:

“Every sacred act and ceremony in the Church is one of her mysteries… for every sacramental act… stands in an organic and vital relationship with the central mystery of the Church, the God-man Christ.”

What does this mean practically? That the Agiasmos is not “something secondary” or merely “formal.” It is an ecclesial act that draws its meaning only within the ecclesial way of life: faith, repentance, prayer, confession, and Holy Communion.

3. Great and Small Blessing of the Waters: Differences, Time, Meaning

3.1. The Great Blessing of the Waters

The Great Blessing of the Waters is celebrated twice a year, on January 5 and 6, in remembrance and actual participation in the Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan. An important clarification: on both days the same service of the Great Blessing of the Waters is celebrated. It is an error to say that on the eve there is a “Small” and on the feast day itself a “Great” blessing. On both days it is the “Great” Blessing of the Waters.

Historically, in the early Christian centuries, the sanctification of the waters at Theophany was connected with the celebration of the baptism of catechumens. For this reason, the hymn “As many as have been baptized into Christ…” is sung in the Divine Liturgy of Theophany, revealing the ancient connection between the feast and the baptismal experience.

The celebration of the Great Blessing also on the eve became established later for pastoral reasons, because priests visit homes and “go caroling,” that is, they bring the blessing into the living spaces of the people.

3.2. The Small Blessing of the Waters

The Small Blessing of the Waters is usually celebrated on the first day of each month (except January in many local traditions, due to Theophany) and on various occasions: ground-breaking, inaugurations, the beginning of works, the blessing of homes, shops, vehicles, etc. Its structure often has a Theotokos-centered, supplicatory character and is normally celebrated after the Divine Liturgy.

In both cases, the core is the same: the invocation of the Holy Spirit to sanctify the water so that it may become cleansing, healing, enlightening, and a safeguard against the powers of the evil one.

4. When Is the Water Sanctified: The Prayer and the Invocation – Not Simply the

“Moment” of the Cross

Here theological precision is needed. Many people think that the water is sanctified “at the moment when the cross is immersed” and the apolytikion “When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan…” is chanted. This action is important and symbolically powerful, but the sanctification itself is accomplished through the prayers and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, especially in the great prayer “O Lord, great art Thou…” where it is asked:

“Be present… through the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water.”

The immersion of the cross was introduced later in order to represent more vividly the Lord’s Baptism. The theological essence, however, is that the Church invokes the Holy Spirit to sanctify creation.

5. What Does the Blessing of the Waters Offer: Sanctification of Homes, Healing,

Repelling Temptations

The prayer of the Great Blessing clearly states that, through drinking and sprinkling, the believer receives cleansing of soul and body, healing of passions, sanctification of house, and “suitable benefit” in all things. This does not mean that the Agiasmos “automatically” solves problems without repentance and spiritual struggle. The Church never operates mechanically.

The Agiasmos is a cooperation (synergia):

• Grace truly acts.

• But the human person is called to receive it with faith, prayer, and a changed life.

Therefore, when some people resort to “magic,” “unhexing,” mediums, and similar practices, and then ask for Agiasmos as an antidote, there is an inconsistency. The Church offers true holy things, not magical exits. The Blessing of the Waters is healing when the person returns to the Gospel, to confession, to Holy Communion, and to the struggle against the passions.

The folk tradition concerning “kallikantzaroi” (goblins) expresses in popular form a truth: that Agiasmos is a powerful safeguard—not as a talisman, but as ecclesial grace that drives away evil. Whatever is incompatible with Grace cannot endure Grace.

6. Blessing of the Waters and Holy Communion: Distinction and Hierarchy

A significant pastoral distinction must be made: the Blessing of the Waters does not replace Holy Communion. It is a grave error to treat it as an “alternative.” The Divine Eucharist is the supreme gift: the Body and Blood of Christ. The Agiasmos is a gift of blessing and consolation, often recommended by spiritual fathers as a support, especially in cases where someone, for spiritual reasons, does not yet have a blessing to receive Holy Communion.

On the Holy Mountain, there is a beautiful custom of drinking Agiasmos after the Divine Liturgy. And during the eight days of Theophany they drink from the Great Blessing of the Waters. This order shows us: Agiasmos has its own place, but the summit is the Divine Communion.

7. Can We Keep Great Blessing of the Waters at Home?

Yes, and there is patristic testimony to this. St. John Chrysostom says that the faithful draw water and keep it “for a whole year”—and often longer—and the sign is that the water remains intact, pure, “as if fresh.” This is not “magic of matter,” but a witness that God blesses creation and preserves it in a wondrous way.

Therefore, we can have Agiasmos at home with reverence: in a clean container, in a decent place, not treated like ordinary water.

8. How We Celebrate the Blessing of the Waters in Our Home: Preparation and Order

When we invite the priest to celebrate the Small Blessing of the Waters in our home, we are not performing a “formality” so that “things will go well.” We are inviting the Church into our home. It is as if we say: “Lord, come and dwell here.”

For this reason, the preparation has two aspects:

a) Spiritual preparation

• There should be peace, avoidance of quarrels.

• There should be prayer.

• Where possible, confession and a return to ecclesial life should precede.

• The blessing of the physical space is connected with the life of the persons who live there.

b) Practical preparation

We set up a table in a decent place (if possible facing East) and prepare:

• a vessel with clean water,

• a candle/candlestick,

• a censer with charcoal and incense,

• an icon (if there is not already one nearby),

• basil or a bunch of greenery for sprinkling,

• a clean towel,

• a small glass,

• a paper with names to be commemorated.

It is good for the members of the family to be present. We open the doors of the rooms so that the priest can pass through and sprinkle.

It is very beneficial if, after the Blessing, the family reads a short prayer, sings a “Save, O Lord…” or a troparion, and thus begins a new order—not only of the house, but of the heart.

9. How We Use the Blessing of the Waters at Home: Drinking, Sprinkling, Reverence

The use of Agiasmos is done with faith and discernment:

We drink it fasting, as we do with the antidoron.

According to proper order: first antidoron, then Agiasmos (when both are available).

We drink it as a blessing, not as a “medicine that always works automatically.” Grace acts, but the person must live in repentance.

We sprinkle the space (with the blessing of the priest) in times of need, illness, trials, and in periods of temptations. But always with prayer: “Lord, sanctify this house…”

Whatever is left over we do not pour into the sink or the sewer. If we must dispose of it, we pour it into a plant pot or in a place where people do not step.

We can put a little in food or in the garden, for animals or seeds, as a blessing on creation—not with superstitious certainty, but as an invocation of Grace upon our labor and daily life.

St. Luke the Physician (Voino-Yasenetsky) pastorally emphasized the frequent use of the Blessing of the Waters as a spiritual “medicine.” However, the Church adds: the medicine is effective when the patient does not reject the physician. And the Physician is Christ.

10. Epilogue: Blessing of the House, Blessing of Life

My beloved brothers,

The purpose of the Agiasmos is not that “everything may go well” in an external way. It is that the human person and his home may return to the blessing of God’s presence. The Agiasmos sanctifies creation, but it also calls us to sanctification. For, as it is rightly said, “pure water receives Grace”; likewise, a pure heart receives God.

Let us not therefore seek the blessing of the house without the blessing of the life lived in it. Let us not seek the blessing of the walls without the repentance of the persons. May Christ first dwell in the “inner man,” and then His Grace will extend to the “outer” things as well.

And when, with faith, humility, and an ecclesial mind, we drink the Holy Water (Agiasmos), sprinkle our home, and pray, then what the Church asks for is realized:

• that the house may become “a dwelling place of peace,”

• that every dark energy may depart,

• that the passions may be healed,

• that the mind may be illumined,

• that the family may be filled with grace,

• and that God may be glorified “in all things.”

May the Grace of the All-Holy Spirit, through the holy blessings of our Church, sanctify our homes, our hearts, and our daily life. Amen.